Input device, information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

ABSTRACT

An input device includes: a contact detector configured to detect at least a size of contact area by detecting a physical contact with a control input section; a pressure detector configured to detect a pressure applied by the physical contact; and a controller configured to output signals in response to detection outputs from the contact detector and the pressure detector. The controller outputs a first signal carrying a value which varies in response to the pressure detected under a state of contact in which a contact detection result indicates that the detected contact area is equal to or smaller than a predetermined contact area, and outputs a second signal carrying a value which varies in response to the pressure detected under a state of contact in which the contact detection result indicates that the detected contact area is greater than the predetermined contact area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an input device configured to output asignal carrying a value (or controlled variable) which varies inresponse to input operations performed by a finger or the likecontacting and pressing a control panel. The present invention alsorelates to an information processing apparatus, an informationprocessing method, and a storage medium that stores a program, which usethis input device.

2. Description of Related Art

Various input devices are known, through which input operation isperformed to an information processing apparatus such as a personalcomputer. They include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, a drawingtablet, a touch panel, a joystick, a trackball, and so on, and manyimprovements have been made to reduce their size and enhance theireasiness of operation.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication Number 2005-18669discloses a touch panel of a capacitive coupling type, in which a changein capacity corresponding to an area touched is detected falsely aspressing.

Japanese Patent Application Publication Number 2005-38812 discloses apressing-pressure sensor having a structure in which the number of inputpoints can be varied with high accuracy in response to the magnitude ofa pressing force applied.

Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Publication Number 2005-31918discloses a touch panel display apparatus that allows a user to have afeeling of more realistic operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When an input device, which uses a pressure sensor to change a value (orcontrolled variable) in response to pressing force applied by a fingeror the like, the pressure value sensed by the input device takes apositive value from 0. Accordingly, the input device is capable ofhandling values that change in one direction from a reference value (orcontrolled variable), but encounters difficulty handling values thatchange in the opposite direction from the reference value (or controlledvariable). For example, to zoom in or out on an image of a map in anavigation system or the like, a user can increase or decrease his/herpressing force to increase the zoom percentage from 0 (no zoom in/zoomout), or to step back to 0 (no zoom in/zoom out), but cannot zoom outfrom 0 (no zoom in/zoom out).

It is possible that, in addition to the pressure sensor, a switch isprovided, whereby when the switch is turned off, the zoom-in level canbe changed in response to pressing force from 0, whereas when the switchis turned on, the zoom-out level can similarly be changed in response topressing force from O. However, this approach requires on/off switchingoperation. Such an operation is cumbersome, and may prevent a user fromperforming the continuous and smooth operation.

Alternatively, it is possible to switch the functions of zooming in andzooming out depending on, e.g., positions pressed. However, in this casealso, the user needs to move the finger to different positions.Accordingly, such a construction may also prevent a user from performingthe continuous and smooth operation.

It is desirable to provide an input device, an information processingapparatus, an information processing method, and/or a storage mediumthat stores a program, all enabling control an input in both positiveand negative directions from zero without changing the position of afinger or the like. The present invention has been proposed in view ofsuch circumstances of related art.

In the present invention, two kinds of values, namely a contact area anda pressing force by a finger or an input device that works similarly asthe finger or the like, are utilized together using contact detectionmeans and pressure detection means. Furthermore, the detected contactarea is discriminated by a predetermined threshold whereby the detectedpressure value can be interpreted in one of two directions, a positiveor a negative direction from zero.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan input device. The input device includes: contact detection means fordetecting at least a size of a contact area by detecting a physicalcontact with a control input section; pressure detection means fordetecting a pressure applied by the physical contact; and control meansfor outputting control signals in response to detection outputs from thecontact detection means and the pressure detection means. The controlmeans outputs a first control signal carrying a first value (orcontrolled variable) which varies in response to the pressure detectedby the pressure detection means under a state of contact in which acontact detection result indicates that the contact area is equal to orsmaller than a predetermined contact area, and outputs a second controlsignal carrying a second value (or controlled variable) which varies inresponse to the pressure detected by the pressure detection means undera state of contact in which the contact detection result indicates thata contact area is greater than the predetermined contact area.

Here, the contact detection means may be provided with a positiondetection function for detecting a position of the physical contact withthe control input section.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided an information processing apparatus. The apparatus includes: aninput device; and a plurality of function sections for performingprocessing in response to a signal obtained from the input device. Theinput device includes: contact detection means for detecting at least asize of a contact area by detecting a physical contact with a controlinput section; pressure detection means for detecting a pressure appliedby the physical contact; and control means for outputting controlsignals in response to detection outputs from the contact detectionmeans and the pressure detection means. The control means outputs afirst control signal carrying a first value (or controlled variable)which varies in response to the pressure detected by the pressuredetection means under a state of contact in which a contact detectionresult indicates that the contact area is equal to or smaller than apredetermined contact area, and outputs a second control signal carryinga second value (or controlled variable) which varies in response to thepressure detected by the pressure detection means under a state ofcontact in which the contact detection result indicates that a contactarea is greater than the predetermined contact area.

An information processing method according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes an input step, and a processing step ofperforming processing in response to a signal obtained by the inputstep. The input step includes a contact detection step of detecting atleast a size of contact area by detecting a physical contact with acontrol input section, a pressure detection step of detecting a pressureapplied by the physical contact, and a control step of outputtingsignals in response to detection outputs produced by the contactdetection step and the pressure detection step. The control stepexecutes first processing by a first signal carrying a value whichvaries in response to the pressure detected by the pressure detectionstep under a state of contact in which a contact detection resultindicates a contact area equal to or smaller than a predeterminedcontact area, and executes second processing by a second signal carryinga value which varies in response to the pressure detected by thepressure detection step under a state of contact in which the contactdetection result indicates a contact area greater than the predeterminedcontact area.

A program according to an embodiment of the present invention or astorage medium that stores such a program causes a computer to executethe above-mentioned information processing.

According to the present invention, a contact area touched by a fingeror the like during input operation is combined with a pressure value.The contact area is discriminated using a predetermined threshold. Afirst signal carrying a first value (or controlled variable) whichvaries with pressure and a second signal carrying a second value (orcontrolled variable) which varies with pressure are switched for output.As a result, first processing and second processing may be selectivelyperformed without causing a user to change the position of his/herfinger on the control input section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an input device in anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B area schematic sectional view and a plan view bothshowing an example of input operation involving pressing by a fingertip,in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a schematic sectional view and a plan view bothshowing an example of input operation involving pressing by a fingerpad, in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for illustrating operation in an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 5A, 5C, 5E are schematic perspective views all showing a specificexample of input operation in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5B, 5D, 5F are schematic plan views respectively showing displayscreens corresponding to FIGS. 5A, 5C, 5E;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of an informationprocessing apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a schematic sectional view and a schematic plan viewboth showing an input device which is another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for illustrating operation in another embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 9A is a schematic plan view of an input device which is stillanother embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a display screen of the input device ofFIG. 9A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be describedbelow with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an input device in anembodiment of the present invention. An input device 1 includes, asshown in FIG. 1, a contact sensor section 2, pressure sensor sections 3,and a control section 4 for outputting a control signal in response todetected outputs from the contact sensor section 2 and the pressuresensor sections 3. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that thecontact sensor section 2 may include a touch sensor, a touch pad, or atouch panel, and correspond to the contact detection means of, e.g.,capacitive, resistive type, for detecting physical contact of a fingeror the like or with a surface (control input surface). However, in thepresent embodiment, the structure of the contact detection means may notbe limited to such types and may be other type of the contact detectionmeans as long as such contact detection means can detect a contact areaover which a user touches with his/her finger or the like. The contactsensor section 2 used for the input device 1 of this embodiment alsohas, as described later, a function of detecting contact position atwhich the user touches with the finger. The pressure sensor sections 3,which serves as means for detecting a physical contact pressure, detecta force (pressing force) applied thereto when the user presses thecontrol input surface with the finger or the like. It is also called apressure-sensitive sensor, or a pressure detecting element, and mayinclude, e.g., a piezoelectric element, a pressure/electric-resistancetransducer.

In the example of FIG. 1, the surface of a plate-shaped contact sensorsection 2 serves as a control panel of the input device 1, and thepressure sensor sections 3 are disposed at, e.g., four corners of theunderside of the contact sensor section 2, to support the plate-shapedcontact sensor section 2. In this case, when the user touches andpresses the surface of the contact sensor section 2, which serves as thecontrol panel of the input device 1, with a finger or the like, apressing force is applied to the pressure sensor sections 3 via thecontact sensor section 2, whereby the pressing force through the fingeror the like is detected by the pressure sensor sections 3. It should benoted that the input device 1 is not limited to the example shown inFIG. 1, but may include an example in which the plate-shaped contactsensor section is supported at, e.g., its four corners by spacers or thelike, to allow a strain gauge or the like to be stuck to the undersideof the contact sensor section to form a pressure sensor section. In thisexample, deformations of the plate-shaped contact sensor section by thefinger or the like pressing the contact sensor section are detected bythe strain gauge or the like, whereby a pressing force is detected.

The control section 4 includes a contact detection processing circuit 42connected to the contact sensor section 2, and a pressure detectioncircuit 43 connected to the pressure sensor sections 3. The contactdetection processing circuit 42 detects a contact position and a contactarea touched by a finger or the like, to output a contact positioninformation signal and a contact area information signal, which areelectrical signals, respectively. The pressure detection circuit 43detects a pressure (pressing force) applied by the finger or the like,to output an electric pressure detection signal. The contact areainformation signal from the contact detection processing circuit 42 issupplied to an area determination circuit 44 for comparison with aspecified area threshold St, and the area determination circuit 44 thensupplies a switching signal in response to the comparison result, to aswitching selection circuit 45. The switching selection circuit 45switches between terminals a, b in response to comparison results, tooutput the pressure detection signal from the pressure detection circuit43. A first signal from the terminal a of the switching selectioncircuit 45 is supplied to a first processing function section 51 via anoutput terminal 46 of the control section 4, and a second signal fromthe terminal b of the switching selection circuit 45 is supplied to asecond processing function section 52 via an output terminal 47 of thecontrol section 4. Furthermore, the contact position information signalfrom the contact detection processing circuit 42 is supplied to a thirdprocessing function section 53 via an output terminal 48 of the controlsection 4, as necessary.

It should be noted that the first and second processing functionsections 51, 52 include those performing zoom-in processing and zoom-outprocessing for displaying an image, and that the third processingfunction section 53 includes display position moving processing such asso-called scrolling or panning for moving a display area when a part ofa large image area, such as a map, is displayed.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A, 3B show examples of input operation to the inputdevice 1 using a finger or the like. FIGS. 2A and 2B are a schematicsectional view and a plan view both showing the control panel (thesurface of the contact sensor section 2) of an input section of theinput device 1 which a user presses by erecting a finger and thus with afingertip. During the input operation, the contact area of the contactsensor section 2 occupied by the fingertip equals a small area S1 suchas shown in FIG. 2B. FIGS. 3A and 3B are a schematic sectional view anda plan view both showing the control panel (the surface of the contactsensor section 2) of the input device 1 which the user presses by layingdown the finger and thus with the finger pad. The contact area of thecontact sensor section 2 touched by the finger pad equals a large areaS2 such as shown in FIG. 3B. That is, compared with the area S1, whichis an area of the contact sensor section 2 surface touched by thefingertip, the area S2 touched by the finger pad is larger (wider).These areas S1, S2 can be clearly distinguished by using a threshold Stof a specified area as a boundary. Therefore, by pressing the inputdevice 1 by erecting a finger and thus with a fingertip, the user canperform first processing for zooming in on an image in response to thepressing force. Similarly, by pressing the input device 1 by laying thefinger down and thus with the finger pad, the user can perform secondprocessing for zooming out on the image in response to the pressingforce.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for illustrating operation for switching suchfirst and second processing in which a value (or controlled variable)varies with pressing force, on the basis of contact area. In an exampleof FIG. 4, third processing is further added, in which a value (orcontrolled variable) varies with contact position of a finger or thelike in the contact sensor section. Moreover, as the first and secondprocessing, zoom-in and zoom-out processing for displaying an image istaken as examples, and as the third processing, image moving (scroll)processing for moving a display area over an image covering a wide areais taken as an example.

In FIG. 4, when a user performs input operation to the input device 1 ofFIG. 1, it is determined in step S11 whether or not a pressure appliedto the above-mentioned pressure sensor sections 3 and detected by thepressure detection circuit 43 is greater than a specified threshold Pt.This step is taken to determine whether the user merely touches thecontrol panel (the surface of the contact sensor section 2) of the inputdevice 1 with the finger, or strongly pushes it down with his/her fingerto positively apply a pressing force, and corresponds to on/offdetermination as to the above-mentioned first and second processingfunctions. That is, when the pressure detected is greater than thespecified threshold Pt, the first and second processing functions areturned on, whereas when it is below the specified threshold Pt, thesefunctions remain turned off.

When it is determined to be YES (the detected pressure is greater thanthe specified threshold Pt) in step S11, the processing proceeds to stepS12, to determine whether or not a contact area detected by the contactdetection processing circuit 42 connected to the contact sensor section2 of FIG. 1 mentioned above, is smaller than the specified areathreshold St. If it is determined in step S12 that the contact areadetected is smaller than the threshold St (YES), the processing proceedsto step S13 to perform the zoom-in processing, whereas if the contactarea detected is determined to be equal to or greater than the thresholdSt (NO), the processing proceeds to step S14 to perform the zoom-outprocessing. Both the zoom-in processing in step S13 and the zoom-outprocessing in step S14 involve a change of a value or a controlledvariable (the zoom-in/zoom-out level) in response to a pressing force(pressure) value detected by the above-mentioned pressure detectioncircuit 43. In the zoom-in processing in step S13, a display image isenlarged with increasing pressing force, whereas in the zoom-outprocessing in step S14, a display image is reduced with decreasingpressing force. Thus, control is effected in opposite directions. Aftercompleting steps S13 and S14, the processing returns to step S11.

When it is determined to be NO (the pressure detected is equal to orsmaller than the threshold Pt) in step S11, the processing proceeds tostep S15, to determine whether or not the contact position of the fingerin the contact sensor section 2 has moved (whether or not a fingermovement has been detected). If NO (no finger movement), the processingreturns to step S11, whereas if YES (a finger movement has beendetected), the processing proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the imagemoving (scroll) processing for moving the image in response to fingermovements is performed. After completing step S16, the processingreturns to step S11.

Here, step S12 of FIG. 4 corresponds to the processing performed by thearea determination circuit 44 of FIG. 1 mentioned above. When thecontact area detected is smaller than the threshold St, the switchingselection circuit 45 is caused to select the terminal a, to supply thepressure detection signal from the pressure detection circuit 42 to thefirst processing function section 51 via the terminal 46, whereby tocause the function section 51 to perform the zoom-in processing of stepS13. When the contact area detected is equal to or greater than thethreshold St, the switching selection circuit 45 is caused to select theterminal b to supply the pressure detection signal from the pressuredetection circuit 42 to the second processing function section 52 viathe terminal 47, whereby to cause the function section 52 to perform thezoom-out processing of step S14. The determination as to whetherpressing operation has been performed or not in step S11 may be made bythe pressure detection circuit 43 of FIG. 1, and it may be arranged suchthat a result of the determination is supplied to the contact detectionprocessing circuit 42. Whether or not the finger has moved in step S15is determined by the contact detection processing circuit 42, and thecontact position information signal detected is supplied to the thirdprocessing function section 53 via the terminal 48, whereby to cause thefunction section 53 to perform the image moving (scroll) processing ofstep S16. It should be noted that the circuit configuration shown inFIG. 1 may be implemented by hardware, but may, of course, beimplemented, in part or in whole, by software as well.

Next, FIGS. 5A to 5F are diagrams showing, as a more specific example,how input operation is related to display screens, in a case where theembodiment of the present invention is applied to a so-called navigationsystem. As shown in FIG. 5A, with respect to the surface of the contactsensor section 2, which serves as the control panel of an input device 1such as described above, when a user merely touches the surface (with nopressure applied thereto) and moves his/her finger in directionsindicated by arrows a, b, the user can move (scroll or pan) an image ofa map displayed on a display screen in the directions indicated by thearrows a, b, as shown in FIG. 5B. The operation applies similarly todirections orthogonal to the directions of the arrows a, b, whereby theuser can display the map while moving it every direction. With a desiredposition displayed through such image movement, when the user pressesthe control panel (the surface of the contact sensor section 2) byerecting his/her finger and thus with the fingertip (touching an areasmaller than the threshold St) to apply pressure thereto as shown in.FIG. 5C, the user can zoom in on the map as shown in FIG. 5D. Moreover,with the desired position displayed, when the user presses the controlpanel (the surface of the contact sensor section 2) by laying his/herfinger down and thus with the finger pad (touching an area greater thanthe threshold St) to apply pressure thereto as shown in FIG. 5E, theuser can zoom out on the map as shown in FIG. 5F. During the operation,the user can change the zoom level by changing pressure he/she applieswith the finger. Specifically, when erecting the finger and increasingthe pressing force thus with the fingertip, the user can increase thezoom-in level, and when decreasing the pressing force, the user candecrease the zoom-in level to go back to the display neither zoomed in(nor zoomed out) with no pressure applied. Then, when laying the fingerdown and increasing the pressing force thus with the finger pad, theuser can further zoom out on the image, and when decreasing the pressingforce, the user can decrease the zoom-out level up to the displayneither zoomed out (nor zoomed in) with no pressure applied.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of an informationprocessing apparatus 100 using an input device 1 such as describedabove. In FIG. 6, to a bus 110 connected to a CPU 101, there areconnected a ROM 102 having programs and data stored therein, and a RAM103 for storing data being processed. The input device 1 is connected tothis bus 110. The CPU 101 executes various processing according to aprogram stored in the ROM 102 or the program loaded into the RAM 103.The RAM 103 also stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 101 toexecute the various processing, as appropriate.

The input device 1 has, as described with reference to FIG. 1, thecontact sensor section 2 and the pressure sensor sections 3, and outputsa signal in which a contact area detected by the contact sensor section2 is discriminated at a specified threshold whereby a pressure valuedetected by the pressure sensor sections 3 is interpreted in one of twodirections, a positive or a negative direction from 0. Here, the controlsection 4 of FIG. 1 may be provided as an interface circuit with respectto the internal circuitry of the input device 1 or the bus 110. However,the control section 4 may be implemented software-wise, in part or inwhole, using the CPU 101 (and the ROM 102, the RAM 103, and the like),as necessary. It should be noted that specific examples of the inputoperation to the input device 1 by a finger or the like are as describedwith reference to FIGS. 2-5 above, and thus their description will beomitted.

To the bus 110 of FIG. 6, there are connected, as necessary, a displaysection 105, a hard disk drive (HDD) 106, a disk drive 107 forreproducing and/or recording data from/into CDs or DVDs (DigitalVersatile Discs (trademark)), and the like. For example, if thisinformation processing apparatus 100 is supposed to be a so-callednavigation system, the apparatus 100 reproduces a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROMhaving map data recorded thereon with its disk drive 107, and displaysthe acquired map data on its display section 105 such as an LCD (LiquidCrystal Display) or the like. In addition, if communication circuitry,tuner circuitry, and the like are added or if unnecessary circuitry iseliminated, as necessary, the information processing apparatus 100 can,of course, be configured to be a personal computer, a hard diskrecorder, a television receiver, or other electronic equipment.Moreover, the present invention may also be applied to a so-called touchpanel disposed on the surface of a display screen as a transparentplate-shaped member or a transparent film to detect contact by a fingeror the like. In this case, a transparent type of the contact sensorsection 2 shown in FIG. 1 above may be disposed on the display screen,to cause the pressure sensors 3 to detect a pressing force applied tothis transparent contact sensor 2. Alternatively, a touch panel servingas the contact sensor section may be stuck to the surface of aplate-shaped display member such as an LCD panel, and the pressuresensors may be disposed on the underside of the plate-shaped displaymember, whereby to detect a pressing force applied through the touchpanel to the pressure sensor sections via the plate-shaped displaymember.

In the above-described embodiment, the contact sensor section 2 has eventhe function of detecting a contact position of a finger or the like.However, any contact sensor section 2 may be acceptable as long as itcan detect at least a contact area. FIGS. 7A and 7B are a schematicsectional view and a schematic plan view both showing an input device 1′having such a contact sensor section 2′ capable of detecting a contactarea, and the pressure sensor sections 3.

In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the pressure sensor sections 3 are provided on theunderside of the contact sensor section 2′ that detects a contact areawhen a finger or the like touches its surface, whereby a force from thefinger or the like pressing the contact sensor section 2′ is applied tothe pressure sensor sections 3. Similarly to the input device 1described above with reference to FIG. 1 above, an area S1 detected whena user applies pressure to the contact sensor section 2′ by erectinghis/her finger and thus with the fingertip is related to an area S2detected when the user applies pressure to the contact sensor section 2′by laying his/her finger down and thus with the finger pad as S1<S2.Consequently, the areas S1, S2 can be distinguished by setting anappropriate threshold St. By pressing the input device 1′ by erectingthe finger and thus with the fingertip, the user can perform firstprocessing for, e.g., zooming in on an image in response to the pressingforce detected by the pressure sensor sections 3, whereas by pressingthe input device 1′ by laying his/her finger down and thus with thefinger pad, the user can perform second processing for, e.g., zoomingout on the image in response to the pressing force detected.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for illustrating operation of switching the firstand second processing for varying a value (or controlled variable) withsuch pressing forces, on the basis of contact area.

In a first step S21 of FIG. 8, whether a pressure detected by theabove-mentioned pressure sensor sections 3 is greater than the specifiedthreshold Pt or not is determined. When the detected pressure is greaterthan the specified threshold Pt, the processing proceeds to step S22,whereas when the detected pressure is equal to or smaller than thespecified threshold Pt, the processing returns to step S21. In step S22,whether a contact area detected by the contact sensor section 2′ issmaller than the above-mentioned specified threshold St or not isdetermined. When the detected contact area is determined to be smallerthan the specified threshold St (YES) in step S22, the processingproceeds to step S23, to perform the first processing. When the detectedcontact area is determined to be equal to or greater than the thresholdSt (NO), the processing proceeds to step S24, to perform the secondprocessing. As the first and second processing, different types ofprocessing may be adopted, for varying a value (or controlled variable)with a pressing force applied during operation with a finger. Forexample, it may be arranged such that the first processing is up scrollprocessing, and that the second processing is down scroll processing.Alternatively, as mentioned above, the first processing may be thezoom-in processing, whereas the second processing may be zoom-outprocessing, for displaying a map or the like.

Next, FIGS. 9A and 9B show an example of an input device 70 as stillanother embodiment of the present invention. The input device 70 is anarray of configurations such as described with reference to FIGS. 7A, 7Babove. FIG. 9A is a schematic plan view of the input device 70, in whicha total of twelve buttons is arranged in, e.g., a 4×3 matrix-likeconfiguration. Each of the buttons is a button 71 having a configurationof the input device 1′ such as described with reference to FIGS. 7A, 7Babove. FIG. 9B shows an example of an image indicating functionalinformation assigned to one of these buttons 71, which serves as acontrol input section. The buttons 71 of the input device 70 shown inFIG. 9A are displayed as soft buttons 81 of a so-called soft key pad 80on a display screen of FIG. 9B.

In such a configuration, when a user touches, e.g., a button 71a of thebuttons 71 in the input device 70 with his/her finger, a soft button 81aof the soft key pad 80 on the display screen corresponding to thisbutton 71a is highlighted. In an example of FIG. 9B, the soft button 81acorresponds to a volume (VOL.) control button. When the user presses thebutton 71a by erecting the finger and thus with the fingertip (i.e.,covering a small contact area as mentioned above), the volume isincreased, whereas when the user presses the button 71a by laying downthe finger and thus with the finger pad (i.e., covering a large contactarea), the volume is decreased. Thus, bi-directional control iseffected. Additionally, various functions may be assigned to therespective buttons 71. For example, brightness may be varied to bebrighter and darker, and hue may also be varied in both a plus (+)direction and a minus (−) direction, Moreover, a display button may bevaried in two directions, i.e., to zoom in and zoom out.

It should be noted that in the example of FIG. 9B, the function name(VOL.) is indicated only on the soft button 81a corresponding to thebutton touched by the finger. However, other soft buttons 81 not touchedby the finger may, of course, have function names, icons representingfunctions, or the like respectively indicated thereon.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 9A and 9B, function information about one ormore functions assigned to the buttons 71 forming the control inputsections of the input device 70 may be displayed as the soft buttons 80of the soft key pad 80 on display means, not shown. A contact detectionresult from the above-mentioned contact sensor section, which serves asthe contact detection means, is reflected in the above-mentionedfunction information displayed. As a result, when the above-mentionedcontrol input section is pressed with the contact detection result,which is reflected in the function information, the first signal or thesecond signal is outputted.

As is apparent from the foregoing, the embodiment of the presentinvention uses a combination of a value about a contact area touched bya finger and a pressure value to identify a control mode. That is, thecontact area S1 by the fingertip applying pressure is related to thecontact area S2 by the finger pad (laying the finger down) applyingpressure as S1<S2. These areas 51, S2 are distinguished by setting anappropriate threshold St, whereby under each distinguished state, apressure value can be used in two directions, positive and negative,such as zooming in when pressure is applied by the fingertip (processingthe pressure as a positive value) and zooming out when pressure isapplied with the finger laid down (processing the pressure as a negativevalue). That is, two types of control modes, in each of which a value(or controlled variable) varies with pressure can be switched accordingto a contact area touched by the finger.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to theabove-described embodiments, but may also be applied to an embodiment inwhich, e.g., the first and second processing includes, in addition tozooming in/zooming out, any two kinds of processing, in each of which avalue or controlled variable varies with pressure, such as controllingbrightness to levels brighter (positive) or darker (negative) than areference level (0), switching pages or layers toward the positive sideor the negative side from a reference page or layer in a plurality ofpages or layers.

Furthermore, the above embodiment has been described in terms of ahardware configuration. However, the present invention is not limited tothis configuration, but may be realized by causing the CPU to executethe processing by means of a computer program. In this case, thecomputer program may be provided by recording on a recording medium, orby transmission via the Internet or a like transmission medium.

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 2005-168699 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Jun.8, 2005, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein byreference.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing method comprising: aninput step; and a processing step including performing processing inresponse to a signal obtained by the input step; wherein the input stepincludes: a contact detection step including detecting a size of acontact area by detecting a physical contact with a control inputsection; a pressure detection step including detecting a pressureapplied by the physical contact; an area determination step includingcomparing the size of the contact area with a size of a predeterminedcontact area threshold; and a control step including outputting signalsin response to detection of outputs produced by the area determinationstep and the pressure detection step; wherein the control step executes:a first processing by a first signal carrying a value which varies inresponse to the pressure detected by the pressure detection step whenthe result of the comparison indicates the size of the contact area isequal to or smaller than the size of the predetermined contact areathreshold, and a second processing by a second signal carrying a valuewhich varies in response to the pressure detected by the pressuredetection step when the result of the comparison indicates the size ofthe contact area is greater than the size of the predetermined contactarea threshold.
 2. The information processing method according to claim1, wherein: detecting a physical contact with the control input sectionfurther comprises detecting a position of a physical contact with thecontrol input section.
 3. The information processing method according toclaim 1, wherein the control step further comprises outputting the firstor second signal when the detected pressure is greater than apredetermined pressure threshold.
 4. The information processing methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: displaying functioninformation about one or more functions assigned to the control inputsection; and reflecting the contact detection result from the contactdetection step in the function information displayed; wherein thecontrol input section outputs the first or second signal if the controlinput section is pressed while the contact detection result is beingreflected in the function information displayed.
 5. A storage mediumthat stores a program for causing a computer to execute an informationprocessing method, the information processing method comprises an inputstep; and a processing step including performing processing in responseto a signal obtained by the input step; wherein the input step includes:a contact detection step including detecting a size of a contact area bydetecting a physical contact with a control input section; a pressuredetection step including detecting a pressure applied by the physicalcontact; an area determination step including comparing the size of thecontact area with a size of a predetermined contact area threshold; anda control step including outputting signals in response to detection ofoutputs produced by the area determination step and the pressuredetection step; wherein the control step executes: a first processing bya first signal carrying a value which varies in response to the pressuredetected by the pressure detection step when the result of thecomparison indicates the size of the contact area is equal to or smallerthan the size of the predetermined contact area threshold, and a secondprocessing by a second signal carrying a value which varies in responseto the pressure detected by the pressure detection step when the resultof the comparison indicates the size of the contact area is greater thanthe size of the predetermined contact area threshold.
 6. An input devicecomprising: a contact detector configured to detect a size of a contactarea by detecting a physical contact with a control input section; apressure detector configured to detect a pressure applied by thephysical contact; an area determinator configured to compare the size ofthe contact area with a size of a predetermined contact area threshold;and a controller configured to output signals in response to detectionof outputs from the area determinator and the pressure detector; whereinthe controller is configured to output: a first signal carrying a valuewhich varies in response to the pressure detected by the pressuredetector when the result of the comparison indicates that the size ofthe contact area is equal to or smaller than the size of thepredetermined contact area threshold, a second signal carrying a valuewhich varies in response to the pressure detected by the pressuredetector when the result of the comparison indicates that the size ofthe contact area is greater than the size of the predetermined contactarea threshold.
 7. An information processing apparatus comprising: acircuitry configured to detect a size of a contact area of an operationbody on a touch sensitive surface, compare the size of the contact areawith a size of a predetermined contact area threshold, and controldisplay of a display content displayed on a display screen, in responseto an operation of the operation body input through the touch sensitivesurface, wherein the circuitry is configured to control zooming displayof the display content based on the result of the comparison of the sizeof the contact area and a pressing force of the operation on the touchsensitive surface, and wherein the circuitry is further configured toselectively control between executing opposite functions in response tothe same pressing force of the operation being input by the sameoperation body at a same contact position, wherein a selected one ofeither a function of zoom in on the display content by a zoom amountcorrelated with a magnitude of the pressing force or a function of zoomout on the display content by a zoom amount correlated with themagnitude of the pressing force is executed based on whether the size ofthe contact area of the operation body exceeds the size of thepredetermined contact area threshold.
 8. The information processingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to set a value associated with the zooming display accordingto an intensity of the pressing force.
 9. The information processingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the display of the displaycontent is zoomed out in correlation with an increase of the pressingforce.
 10. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7,wherein the circuitry executes a process for the zooming display basedon the pressing force being determined to be higher than a predeterminedthreshold.
 11. The information processing apparatus according to claim7, wherein the circuitry executes a process for the zooming displaybased on an information regarding a contact condition of the operationbody in relation to the touch sensitive surface, which is determinedbased on output of a touch sensor provided in relation to the touchsensitive surface, and information regarding the pressing force.
 12. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 11, furthercomprising: a touch sensor; and a pressing force sensor configured tosense the pressing force of the operation on the touch sensitivesurface.
 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12,wherein the circuitry is further configured to initiate a scrolling ofdisplay of the display content based on output of the touch sensor. 14.The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein thetouch sensor is provided separately from the pressing force sensor. 15.The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein thetouch sensor comprises a capacitive sensor or a resistive sensor. 16.The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein thepressing force sensor comprises a piezoelectric element, apressure-resistance transducer, or an electric-resistance transducer.17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 16, whereinthe display content comprises an image of a map.
 18. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the display contentcomprises a touch operable control button.
 19. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the circuitry isfurther configured to initiate a scrolling of display of the displaycontent, based on a movement of the operation body while the operationbody is contacting the touch sensitive surface.
 20. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the touch sensitivesurface is provided on the display screen.
 21. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising acommunication circuitry.
 22. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 7, further comprising a tuner circuitry.
 23. Aninformation processing method comprising: detecting a size of a contactarea of an operation body on a touch sensitive surface; comparing thesize of the contact area with a size of a predetermined contact areathreshold; controlling display of a display content displayed on adisplay screen, in response to an operation of the operation body inputthrough the touch sensitive surface; and controlling zooming display ofthe display content based on the result of the comparison of the size ofthe contact area and a pressing force of the operation on the touchsensitive surface, wherein the controlling zooming display comprises aselective controlling between executing opposite functions in responseto the same pressing force of the operation being input by the sameoperation body at a same contact position, wherein a selected one ofeither a function of zoom in on the display content by a zoom amountcorrelated with a magnitude of the pressing force or a function of zoomout on the display content by a zoom amount correlated with themagnitude of the pressing force is executed based on whether the size ofthe contact area of the operation body exceeds the size of thepredetermined contact area threshold.
 24. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, which whenexecuted by a processor causes the processor to execute a method, themethod comprising: detecting a size of a contact area of an operationbody on a touch sensitive surface; comparing the size of the contactarea with a size of a predetermined contact area threshold; controllingdisplay of a display content displayed on a display screen, in responseto an operation of the operation body input through the touch sensitivesurface; and controlling zooming display of the display content based onthe result of the comparison of the size of the contact area and apressing force of the operation on the touch sensitive surface, whereinthe controlling zooming display comprises a selective controllingbetween executing opposite functions in response to the same pressingforce of the operation being input by the same operation body at a samecontact position, wherein a selected one of either a function of zoom inon the display content by a zoom amount correlated with a magnitude ofthe pressing force or a function of zoom out on the display content by azoom amount correlated with the magnitude of the pressing force isexecuted based on whether the size of the contact area of the operationbody exceeds the size of the predetermined contact area threshold. 25.An information processing method comprising: an input step; and aprocessing step including performing processing in response to a signalobtained by the input step, wherein the input step includes: a contactdetection step including detecting a size of a contact area by detectinga physical contact, made by an operation body, with a control inputsection; a pressure detection step including detecting a pressureapplied by the physical contact made by the operation body; an areadetermination step including comparing the size of the contact area witha size of a predetermined contact area threshold; and a control stepincluding outputting signals in response to detection of outputsproduced by the area determination step and the pressure detection step,wherein the control step is configured to selectively control betweenexecuting opposite functions in response to a same pressing force of thedetected pressure being detected at a same contact position of thephysical contact made by the same operation body, and executes: a firstprocessing by a first signal carrying a value which varies in responseto the pressure detected by the pressure detection step when the resultof the comparison indicates the size of the contact area is equal to orsmaller than the size of the predetermined contact area threshold; and asecond processing by a second signal carrying a value which varies inresponse to the pressure detected by the pressure detection step whenthe result of the comparison indicates the size of the contact area isgreater than the size of the predetermined contact area threshold,wherein the first processing and the second processing are oppositefunctions and correspond to respective ones of a function of zoom in ona display content by a zoom amount correlated with a magnitude of thepressing force and a function of zoom out on the display content by azoom amount correlated with the magnitude of the pressing force, and aselected one of either the first processing or the second processing isselected to be executed based on whether the size of the contact area ofthe operation body exceeds the size of the predetermined contact areathreshold.
 26. The information processing method according to claim 25,wherein detecting a physical contact with the control input sectionfurther comprises detecting a position of a physical contact with thecontrol input section.
 27. The information processing method accordingto claim 25, wherein the control step further comprises outputting thefirst or second signal when the detected pressure is greater than apredetermined pressure threshold.
 28. The information processing methodaccording to claim 25, further comprising: displaying functioninformation about one or more functions assigned to the control inputsection; and reflecting the contact detection result from the contactdetection step in the function information displayed, wherein thecontrol input section outputs the first or second signal if the controlinput section is pressed while the contact detection result is beingreflected in the function information displayed.
 29. A storage mediumthat stores a program for causing a computer to execute an informationprocessing method, the information processing method comprising: aninput step; and a processing step including performing processing inresponse to a signal obtained by the input step, wherein the input stepincludes: a contact detection step including detecting a size of acontact area by detecting a physical contact, made by an operation body,with a control input section; a pressure detection step includingdetecting a pressure applied by the physical contact made by theoperation body; an area determination step including comparing the sizeof the contact area with a size of a predetermined contact areathreshold; and a control step including outputting signals in responseto detection of outputs produced by the area determination step and thepressure detection step, wherein the control step is configured toselectively control between executing opposite functions in response toa same pressing force of the detected pressure being detected at a samecontact position of the physical contact made by the same operationbody, and executes: a first processing by a first signal carrying avalue which varies in response to the pressure detected by the pressuredetection step when the result of the comparison indicates the size ofthe contact area is equal to or smaller than the size of thepredetermined contact area threshold; and a second processing by asecond signal carrying a value which varies in response to the pressuredetected by the pressure detection step when the result of thecomparison indicates the size of the contact area is greater than thesize of the predetermined contact area threshold, wherein the firstprocessing and the second processing are opposite functions andcorrespond to respective ones of a function of zoom in on a displaycontent by a zoom amount correlated with a magnitude of the pressingforce and a function of zoom out on the display content by a zoom amountcorrelated with the magnitude of the pressing force, and a selected oneof either the first processing or the second processing is selected tobe executed based on whether the size of the contact area of theoperation body exceeds the size of the predetermined contact areathreshold.
 30. An input device comprising: a contact detector configuredto detect a size of a contact area by detecting a physical contact, madeby an operation body, with a control input section; a pressure detectorconfigured to detect a pressure applied by the physical contact made bythe operation body; an area determinator configured to compare the sizeof the contact area with a size of a predetermined contact areathreshold; and a controller configured to output signals in response todetection of outputs from the area determinator and the pressuredetector, wherein the controller is configured to output: a first signalcarrying a value which varies in response to the pressure detected bythe pressure detector when the result of the comparison indicates thatthe size of the contact area is equal to or smaller than the size of thepredetermined contact area threshold; and a second signal carrying avalue which varies in response to the pressure detected by the pressuredetector when the result of the comparison indicates that the size ofthe contact area is greater than the size of the predetermined contactarea threshold, and wherein the controller is further configured toselectively control between executing opposite functions in response tothe same pressure applied by the same operation body at a same contactposition, wherein a selected one of either a function of zoom in on adisplay content by a zoom amount correlated with a magnitude of thepressure or a function of zoom out on the display content by a zoomamount correlated with the magnitude of the pressure is executed basedon whether the size of the contact area exceeds the size of thepredetermined contact area threshold.